Aechmea fendlerixc3x97Aechema dichlamydea trinitensis cultivar Del Mar.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Aechmea plant, botanically known as Aechmea fendlerixc3x97Aechmea dichlamydea trinitensis and referred to by the name xe2x80x98Del Marxe2x80x99.
The new Aechmea is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Princeton, Fla. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Aechmea cultivars with compact plant habit appropriate for container production, desirable inflorescence coloration and good postproduction longevity.
The new Aechmea originated from a cross made by the Inventor in Princeton, Fla. in May, 1994, of an unidentified selection of Aechmea fendleri, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unidentified selection of Aechmea dichlamydea trinitensis, not patented as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar Del Mar was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Princeton, Fla., in September, 1996.
Asexual reproduction of the new Aechmea by tissue culture in a controlled environment in Princeton, Fla., has shown that the unique features of this new Aechmea are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The new Aechmea has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength, light intensity, fertilizer rate and type, and/or irrigation amount and frequency without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following characteristics have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be basic characteristics of xe2x80x98Del Marxe2x80x99 and distinguish xe2x80x98Del Marxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Compact, upright and outwardly arching growth habit.
2. Solid green-colored foliage.
3. Inflorescences held upright and above foliage on strong red scapes.
4. Tightly branched inflorescences with purple and dark red flower bracts and blue purple and greenish white sepals.
5. Long-lasting inflorescences that maintain flower bract and sepal coloration for about five to seven months.
Compared to plants of the female parent, the unidentified selection of Aechmea fendleri, plants of the new Aechmea are more compact, have darker green leaves, and darker blue purple sepals. Compared to plants of the male parent, the unidentified selection of Aechmea dichlamydea trinitensis, plants of the new Aechmea are much more compact and have shorter scapes.
Plants of the new Aechmea can be compared to plants of the Aechmea dichlamydea trinitensisxc3x97Aechmea fendleri cultivar Blue Tango, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,743. In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Princeton, Fla., plants of the new Aechmea differed from plants of the cultivar Blue Tango in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Aechmea are more compact than plants of the cultivar Blue Tango.
2. Plants of the new Aechmea have smaller inflorescences than plants of the cultivar Blue Tango.
3. Plants of the new Aechmea have purple and dark red flower bracts whereas plants of the cultivar Blue Tango have mostly blue purple flower bracts.